Paris Hilton visits India : How is this news?

Paris Hilton is seen giving a money bill to a poor woman in India

And its a $100 bill, something you will not see an Indian doing

Hollywood stars with Om tattoos

Hindu “Om” tattoos seem to be getting popular among Hollywood celebrities and American actress-singer Vanessa Hudgens, 22, is the latest celebrity to ink one.

Accompanied by another Hollywood star Ashley Tisdale (Aliens in the Attic), 26, Hudgens (High School Musical)  reportedly got “Om” inked on the back of her hands by popular tattoo artist “Bang Bang” in Manhattan (New York, USA) recently.

Famous American singer-actress Miley Cyrus, who reportedly already had 'karma' tattooed on her right index finger, recently got a new tattoo of Hindu religious symbol “Om” on her right wrist.

There seems to be a fascination for tattoos depicting things Hindu among celebrities, and tattoo parlor owners are reportedly seeing a surge of interest in Hindu deities, concepts, and Sanskrit verses. “Om” seems to be the most popular of such tattoos, followed by shlokas (verses) from ancient Hindu scriptures.

Welcoming interest of Hudgens, Cyrus, and other celebrities in “Om” and other concepts/symbols of Hinduism, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged them to go beyond the fashion statement and explore the rich philosophical thought which Hinduism offered. He or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide the Hinduism resources helpful in their exploration and comprehensive understanding of Hinduism, Zed said.

Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, further stated that Hollywood celebrities needed to have more patience and go beyond the superficial because Hinduism concepts evolved over thousands of years and needed deep study. Zed urged Hudgens to visit a nearby Hindu temple to have firsthand experience of Hinduism.

Some of the celebrities who sport Sanskrit/Hindu tattoos reportedly include Grammy winner singer-model Rihanna, MTV winner actress Jessica Alba (Sin City), musician Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), singer-actress Brandy Norwood (Moesha), dancer-singer Kimberly Wyatt (Pussycat Dolls), actress-singer Alyssa Milano (Who’s the Boss), footballer David Beckham, Golden Globe winner actress Gillian Anderson (The X Files), British footballer Theo Walcott, etc.

 “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe, is used in Hinduism to introduce and conclude religious work. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language, the language of the gods. Tattoos go back in history to at least since Neolithic times.

Jews stand with Hindus on Ganesh vs. Hitler play in Melbourne Festival

Jews have supported the Hindus on their concerns about “Ganesh Versus the Third Reich” play premiering at Melbourne Festival in Australia on September 29

Rabbi ElizaBeth W. Beyer, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada (USA), in a statement today, said that although she valued freedom of expression, especially in the arts, it was unnecessary dragging into the Third Reich of a deity who was highly revered by our Hindu brothers and sisters.

Such trivialization of Lord Ganesh, whom Hindus worshipped, would naturally hurt the faithful, and must be avoided, Rabbi Beyer added.

Meanwhile, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the issue, in a statement in USA today, said that the play producer/director and Melbourne Festival managers should make sure that Lord Ganesh was not made a laughing stock in the process of pushing their respective agendas.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out that besides Festival managers; Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Victoria, and City of Melbourne; who supported this play; should also look at the play before it premiered on September 29 so that there was nothing hurtful to the feeling of devotees.

Rajan Zed has earlier argued that Lord Ganesh was divine and theater/film/art were welcome to create projects about/around him showing his true depiction as mentioned in the scriptures. Creating irrelevant imaginary imagery, like reportedly depicting him being tortured and interrogated by Nazi SS, hurt the devotees.

Its creator, internationally acclaimed “Back to Back Theatre”, itself calls it a “strange” fable, “rambunctious”. Describing the play, media release of co-presenter Malthouse Theatre says that Ganesh “seeks to go one-on-one with Hitler”. It is also described by some as “wildly inventive ride through history, where sacred icons and rituals become weapons” and “brimming with humour”.

Recently, depiction of Hindu Goddess Lakshmi on swimwear at a fashion event held in Sydney (Australia) resulted in worldwide protests. Popular radio host Kyle Sandilands recently made derogatory remarks, ridiculing Hindus’ holy river Ganga, on Sydney’s hit music station. Australian swimwear company, Sandilands and his radio station later apologized after the protests.

Bruce Galdwin directed “Ganesh Versus the Third Reich”, will be shown at Merlyn Theatre (The Malthouse) in Southbank (Victoria, Australia) from September 29 to October nine. Ticket prices are up to $58. It is also scheduled to be exhibited at the "5th World Summit on Arts and Culture" on October four.

Founded in 1987, Back to Back Theatre claims to be “one of Australia’s leading creative voices, focusing on moral, philosophical and political questions about the value of individual lives”. It states on its website: “The stories they create explore ‘the cold, dark side’ of our times…”. Headquartered in Geelong (Victoria), Peter Bridges is Chair of its Board, Bruce Gladwin the Artistic Director, and Alice Nash the Executive Producer. Over the last five years Back to Back has reportedly toured over 40 cities across the world and is said to be “one of Australia’s most globally recognised and respected contemporary theatre companies”.

Malthouse Theatre and Melbourne Festival are jointly presenting this play. Melbourne Festival, with Brett Sheehy as Artistic Director, claims to be one of Australia's flagship international arts festivals and one of the major multi-arts festivals of the world. Malthouse Theatre, with Marion Potts as Artistic Director, is a non-profit organization “dedicated to the development, production, and promotion of contemporary Australian theatre”. Victoria’s capital Melbourne is the second most populous city of Australia.

One of most widely worshipped deities in Hinduism; Lord Ganesh is regarded as god of wisdom and good luck, patron of learning and remover of obstacles, and invoked at the commencement of all undertakings. Hinduism is oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

Ganesh Idol Symbolism by Kishore Asthana

Image from website of shiva vishnu temple of cleveland

An elephant's trunk has the strength to uproot a tree as well as the finesse to pick up a needle.

Ganesha's trunk symbolises the fact that the wise person has both immense strength and fine discrimination. Ganesha has large ears. The wise person hears all. He has four hands. In one hand he holds a lotus, the symbol of enlightenment. In the other hand he holds a hatchet. That is, the old karma, all your sanskars, the accumulated good and bad of past deeds get cut when enlightenment comes.

The third hand holds laddus, the round sweet-meats. They are the rewards of a wise life. Ganesha is never shown eating the laddus. The wise man never partakes of the rewards of his deeds. He is not attached to them. The fourth hand is shown blessing the people. The wise man wishes the best for everyone.

Ganesha has only one tusk; the other is shown broken. There is an interesting story as to how Ganesh happened to get an elephant's head and how one tusk got broken. The symbolism of the broken tusk is that the wise person is beyond duality.

We tend to think that we end when our bodies end in the material world. We are the first person. All else is different. This duality is created by the mind which creates the ego to help us survive in this world. This 'me-other' duality is the screen keeping us from realising our real Self, which is beyond body and mind. Once we transcend this duality, we see the entire Universe as a single whole and we become aware of our true Selves. The single tusk of Ganesha symbolises this non-duality. Wisdom allows us to see all as one and ourselves an integral part of the whole.

Ganesha is shown sitting with one foot on the ground and the other resting on his knee, above the ground. The wise person is of this earth, yet not entirely of this earth.

Ganesha is shown seated on a rat. The reason for saying that Ganesha 'rides' on the rat is that the rat is among the greediest of all animals. It will keep nibbling at whatever is available, eating everything it can. Scientifically, too, the rat's teeth keep growing and it has to keep chewing on something to keep these within limits. The rat is a symbol of our senses, which are never satisfied. They crave new experiences, new tastes. Left uncontrolled, they keep growing forever. The wise person rides on his senses. He keeps them under control.

Ganesha is often shown seated in front of a tray of sweets. In these images the rat is shown sitting in front of Ganesha, perhaps a bit to one side, looking up at him. The senses of the wise person are under his control and the rat dare not eat the sweets without the permission of Ganesha.

Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati, the God governing the life-force and the earth-mother. This symbolises the spirit and body of the wise person. Finally, the wise person has the dignity of an elephant.

When we say "Aum Ganeshaya Namah" before starting anything what we are saying is that "In what we are about to do, let wisdom be our guide". In a sense, Ganesha is our most powerful god, and he is usually remembered before starting any rituals for other deities.

By: Kishore Asthana of Gurgaon, Haryana, India

India Election 2014 - Let the bat race begin

Narendra Modi's strategic handshake

Rahul Gandhi sucks up

Indian Prime Minister coddles muslims

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly made remarks in the wake of recent investigations by security agencies into the role of Hindutva groups in bomb attacks like the Ajmer Sharief Dargah and the Hyderabad Mecca Masjid.  Earlier, the investigating agencies had suspected the role extremist groups from the minority community for the attacks.

"It is a matter of great satisfaction that in recent years, relations among various communities have by and large remained harmonious. Members of this council have played an active role in ensuring that people respond with maturity to developments that may otherwise flare up communal tempers.  Nevertheless, we need to maintain a continuous vigil in this regard. We also need to recognize that members of the minority communities often have a perception of being unfairly targeted by law enforcement agencies in the aftermath of unfortunate incidents," Manmohan Singh said.

World Trade Center by Katie Weisberger

World Trade Center by Katie Weisberger

Asian Indian restaurant food is fat, salty and colorful

Chicken Tikka Masala and Pilau Rice Studied in Local Government Group Study

Takeaway meals are extremely popular, with many people eating once or twice a week from an increasing variety of catering outlets. Two of the longest established and most popular takeaways offer food from India and China and it was therefore little surprise that Local Authorities chose to concentrate their reducing
resources onto the local priorities.

In this survey a total of 409 samples of Chicken tikka masala and pilau rice and sweet and sour chicken and fried rice were selected for a detailed survey. The survey included a range of optional standardised parameters which Councils could choose from, before the tests were carried out by their own Public
Analyst.

Local Government Regulation has collated the results to identify patterns and provide a national picture. A national survey that is tightly focused on a narrow range of products makes it possible to observe trends that cannot be identified at a local level.

The health problems of a population that is becoming increasingly obese has been widely discussed and it is therefore of concern to report that just one portion of these meals provided, on average, 70% of the daily recommended energy intake for an adult woman and 56% for a man. It should be remembered that the meals selected may have been just a portion of one meal in the day.

In addition the chicken tikka masala and pilau rice provided almost 120% of the recommended Guideline Daily amount for saturated fat; this was surprising as the majority of the supplied claimed to be using lower saturated vegetable oil in their recipes. However perhaps of more concern was the high level of salt in both meals;the indian meal providing justunder the 6g daily recommended maximum and the chinese meal nearly 120% of the maximum.

Some artifical colours are permitted by law, at certain levels, in sauces and marinades used in cooking the two dishes involved in this study. Certain colours investigated in this study have been implicated in affecting the behavior of children and the Food Standards Agency have asked for a voluntary ban on six of them quantified in the survey.

It is therefore disturbing to report that five out of twenty five of the chicken tikka masala dishes were found to contain in excess of the statutory maximum; the problem was still present but less severe in the chinese meals. It is recommended that food authorities make this issue a priority and with the assistance of the Local Government Group and the Food Standards Agency arrange a more comprehensive survey into the artifical colours found in tikka masala sauce.

Testing of food using modern biochemical meals has become viable for most Public Analysts laboratories; both products in this survey were chicken dishes and therefore the presence of other species could be assessed by DNA profiling. On two occasions turkey DNA was detected indicating that species substitution is not a significant problem in these meals.

Allergens are still a continuing problem, particular with those who suffer from the extreme versions and the life threatening anaphylaxis; in this survey several authorities chose to specifically request that meals should be nut free, peanut free and allergen free at the time they are delivered to the consumer ; these samples were tested for the presence of the allergens and in 20% of the indian meals the allergens were detected. It is of concern to report that even specifically asking for an allergen free meal provides little protection for
the allergen sufferer in so many cases.

Cleveland Asian Indians to support Anna Hazare; silently !

Cleveland Asian Indians get on the Anna Hazare bandwagon

JOIN US AND SUPPORT THE MODERN SATYAGRAHA AGAINST CORRUPTION

We the well-wishers of India aspire to express our support for the modern Satyagraha movement against corruption launched by Shri Anna Hazare, by holding a silent sit-in.

DATE & TIME: 4pm to 5 pm , Sunday August 28th
DRESS: Indian dress recommended
LOCATION: Mahatma Gandhi statue at the India Cultural Garden
1190 Martin Luther King Junior Drive,Cleveland, Ohio 44108

This is not a political event, nor is this a narrow political cause. We have all watched in horror as mainstreaming of daily corruption has occurred. All of us, at one time or another, have been victims of this scourge.

We call on all like-minded people of goodwill to be present next Sunday, and even as we remain silent, send a loud and clear message to Indian politicians that the time has come to acknowledge and combat this menace head on. This will be the next struggle for independence. Independence from a fixed, unfair, or a paid outcome.

Hindu god idols cause environmental pollution and more

Ganesh immersion ceremony in Mumbai, India

Hindus across India and the world celebrate various religious festivals in September and October every year, paying homage to deities like Lord Ganesha and Goddess Durga.

Elaborately painted and decorated idols are worshiped.  Donations for these idols are collected.  Folks who do not donate are sometimes threatened by neighborhood thugs.  Part of the donations are sometimes diverted to liquor consumption.  Complaints to police regarding the thuggery are not a recourse for many smart people.  Crazy mass processions which disrupt life for 24-48 hours, take them to nearby rivers, lakes and the sea where they are immersed in accordance with Hindu faith.  Local politicians see this as an opportunity for vote bank politics. 

The idols are often made from non-biodegradable materials such as plastic, cement and plaster of Paris and painted using toxic dyes.  Traditionally, the idols were made from mud and clay and vegetable-based dyes were used to paint them but now it's more like a stupid competition between households and between corporations who sponsor the idols to gain publicity.  Materials like plaster of Paris do not dissolve easily and reduce the oxygen level in the water resulting in the death of fish and other aquatic organisms.  The paints used contain heavy metals such as mercury, chromium and lead which are carcinogenous.

What are the odds that the Hindus will change this ridinkulous practice?